The Palace

Reviews

• Georgina R.

  star star star star star 30 May 2026

  I have lived in Leeds all my life and never been here.  I have now been her three times in the past 2 months.  Me and my husband come here for food, had the burger which was amazing then we had churros for dessert OMG LOL.  Stuffed was an understatement.  Just been today for a breakfast, really good.  I got a small breakfast and I was stuffed.  Such good quality food.  This place is a must for good atmosphere, lovely friendly staff and gorgeous food

• Conrad N.

  star star star star star_border 28 May 2026

  One Sunday morning, I was out walking and decided to stop at The Palace for breakfast.  I arrived fairly early, so it wasn't particularly crowded or noisy.  The pub is pleasant and traditionally decorated.
  
  My breakfast, tea and a simple full English, arrived quickly and was tasty; service was friendly and attentive.  
  
  I ended up enjoying my breakfast so much that I came by for dinner later that week, and that meal was equally enjoyable and tasty.
  
  Next week, I think I'll make a point of stopping at The Palace for a pint or three ;-)

• Michelle C.

  star star star star star_border 26 May 2026

  I may very well have found my new local! My apartment is to the East of the city centre where it seem likes new developments are springing up and being renovated every week, so I though I was going to be on to plums for a nice little pub to spend some time with friends on a  Sunday. But, a short walk down to the edge of the Calls brought me The Palace. Potentially part of a chain (owing to some of the signage) - although not quite as bad as a Wetherspoons - it was cosy inside with lots of dark warm wood and comfy seats to lose yourself in for a few hours.
  
  Food is also an option here, although we didn't eat because my drinking companion is wonderfully fussy (don't worry I'm going to shake that out of him), but it did look and smell rather delicious. They've got a good selection of beers on tap and are embracing the craft beer movement with the addition of some little tinnies of beer.
  I'm looking forward to spending a chunk of the next bank holiday Sunday here - hopefully by the fire with a good pint.

• Rowena H.

  star star star star_border star_border 24 May 2026

  After a long day, post-launch for Yelp's Passport Event, I was in need of some serious sustenance. A few folk had already planned for a few pints in The Palace, so after the clean down, I bobbed along to join them and grab a drink. (Non-alcoholic sadly, still on antibiotics.) There, gleaming on the side of the bar, was a Sunday Roast menu-happy days! Of course, that was exactly what I desired.
  
  We all picked our fare, from the choice of lamb, beef, chicken and nut roast. I opted for the beef, which came in at just under £8. Fortunately the kitchen was still open at 8pm -if it's busy they'll serve until about 10pm, but things had quietened off due to the rain. Even so, we were grand. The chicken, it has to be noted, is a whole half a chicken and the lamb (just under £12) is a lamb shoulder -so if you're hungry, go for those options.
  
  The service was fabulous; all the staff we dealt with were super friendly, helpful and full of smiles, which goes such a long way. The range of drinks is fantastic -there are plenty of good ales to choose from, and the pub itself is a beautiful building. They've tons of outdoor space for the summer months, with tables and umbrellas out front, and a sheltered space out back.
  
  The only let down, unfortunately, was the food. I'm still a fan of this pub, as the locals seem pretty friendly, and it's a great place for a pint, but I doubt I'll dine here again. The 'roast' potatoes clearly came from some kind of Aunt Bessie's style frozen packet, the Yorkshire was a little overly crispy, and the beef was a little tough. It was late in the day, so that perhaps accounts for the beef, but the overall standard of the food just wasn't quite worth the £8 paid! The gravy was delicious, and I thought it was a reasonable portion, though. Somehow, if I'd have paid £5, I'd have felt it was worth it. Perhaps I'm a roast dinner snob.
  
  I've not tried the quiz, so can't comment on Hannah's poor experience, except that hopefully no one else has had similar treatment! Regardless, this is a fabulous spot for an excelllent pint, and plenty of warmth and welcome from the lovely bar tenders -if anything, definitely go along for the range of ales and proper pub style vibe.

• Angelina S.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 16 May 2026

  It has been almost six months since I last went to The Palace and boy oh boy what sudden and unpleasant shift in the clientele they are experiencing at the moment!
  
  The Palace looks great. It's all dark wood, smoothed paving slabs and the bar is seemingly staffed by fabulous pixies (I'm not kidding). The food has always been up there at the decent end of standardised pub grub, with nods to more challenging flavours such as wild boar up alongside your usual chicken and beef- although at busy times there's a tendency to overcooking and delay. However, their dedication to supporting small real ale and cider breweries with taster sessions, beer festivals and monthly specials is to be applauded....in a big circle...with lots of whoooping...twice.
  
  But oh my gracious heavens who the hell were all these screeching galoots, hulking skinheads, stretch lycra teens and creosoted harridens that blocked up every single inch of the surface area trying to a) mate and b) out bellow each other at 5pm last Friday afternoon? Jeepers!
  
  Now I'm no snob. Okay that's a lie. I AM a snob. Swallow your food before you speak or at least cover your mouth so I don't have to see your slobbering mastications. I'm less than a foot away from you and can hear you perfectly well without you clanging obscenities into my lugholes. Skirts have some degree of length for a reason and that's why they are not belts. Yes it's hot but I don't want to see your quivvering man-nipples and it's perfectly acceptable to have a boyfriend you like to smash dainty parts with but you don't have to scream out the intricacies of your latest adventures at full volume whilst I'm trying to eat my mushroom risotto.
  
  So yes. I am a snob. If being a snob means being able to enjoy a glass of wine or a real ale in a beautiful brass and oak bar with cheery staff and friendly clientele- and I lay the blame for the squishing of hordes of hollering oiks into the once wonderful Palace, and thus the ruining of one of my favourite places,  firmly at the feet of....The Etap Hotel.
  
  Ah yes. The Etap.
  
  I once sat next to a vaguely humanoid man thing on a bus as he conducted an extraordinarily loud conversation into his mobile phone concerning his latest stay at The Etap Hotel. Apparently 'the boys' were down from Newcastle for a Stag Weekend. One of them 'banged a lass' (by which I imagine they don't mean playing an enchanting new wave jazz number on her Moroccan Bongos) before they'd even left the hotel. Then they got 'smashed' and 'banged' some other lass in Oceana.....this lass apparently required the attention of more than one of them, that's how 'bang tidy' she was. Finally they got back to The Etap but they don't know how (I know, it's that neon light, like brainless moths they stagger to ye false moon) where they took all their clothes off and ran around the corridors kicking doors looking for another vaguely female person to 'bang'. There was a lot of banging going on.
  
  At the end of this conversation this particular Bog Monkey then decided it would make perfect sense to turn to me and smile. As if, excited and enamoured by his apparent ability to have unsatisfying, drunken and no doubt unprotected sexual intercourse with the particular quality of woman who can be persuaded to remove her delicates in a toilet in Oceana would somehow send venutian shivers down my spine and make me think, 'now HERE is a man I'd like to BED!'. Armed with my confident suspicion that he was probably, in fact, as impotent as a panda I merely turned my face to the window with a sigh that a more educated and less gill ridden man would have recognised as sorrowful despair.
  
  I tell you this not to make that coffee taste funny in your mouth but to explain how one budget hotel stuffed full of heaving, sweating, swearing, fornicating, bellowing, screeching and let us not forget 'banging' social detritus can really REALLY lower the tone at the nice pub with the innocent  misfortune of being but a few metres from its front door.
  
  The Palace has stood since 1741. The Etap was vomited up a mere 8 years ago. Hopefully, like the great cholera epidemics of 1832 and 1849, this insidious moment in the history of Leeds will pass with time and we will all learn to forget it, save for a small informative plaque beside the hole where it once stood....although it's worth noting that Death required the souls of no less than 2,700 Leodensians to satisfy those particular plague years. I'm happy to pass on the address of the Etap to him for his satnav, if any similar number be required to restore the balance now.